A Very Normal Christmas
by Swellison
Summary: Sam's plans for his first Christmas at Stanford are changed at the last minute. Pre-series, no spoilers - in other words, holiday fluff, more or less.


A Very Normal Christmas

by Swellison

Sam Winchester sighed contentedly, relaxing into the overstuffed leather sofa. He burped unexpectedly, and glanced around the room, mildly embarrassed. No one heard him; the Warrens were all elsewhere. Becca and Mrs. Warren were in the kitchen, cleaning up after the elaborate holiday meal, and he could faintly hear the clack of billiard balls as Zach and Mr. Warren waged a friendly game of pool.

Sam's gaze rested on the seasonal focal point in the Warren's elegantly decorated formal living room, a twelve-foot tall Norwegian fir tree, decked out in a dazzling assortment of lights, ornaments, and tinsel. The many multi-colored tree lights glowed softly in the darkened room and Sam pondered how he came to be here. It had all started with Dean's phone call, almost two weeks ago....

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"I understand," Sam huffed, "Yeah...no, I'll be fine. 'Bye." He snapped his cell phone shut, meeting Zach's concerned gaze.

"Everything OK?" Zach asked, already knowing the answer. It was impossible for his roommate not to have overheard Sam's conversation, sharing their cramped freshman dorm room. Almost everything Zach knew about Sam's family had been learned by overhearing conversations such as the one just completed.

Sam was tempted to lie, or at least embellish the truth, but he really was in a pickle, thanks to Dean, and it popped out. "No," he sighed, "my holiday plans just fell apart."

"Sorry to hear that," Zach sympathized. "What's Plan B?"

"Damned if I know," Sam grumbled, eyes widening as he realized that he'd said that aloud.

Zach snapped his fingers. ""I know what! You can come home to St. Louis with Becca and me."

"Wh-hat?" Sam was caught by surprise. "Really kind of you to offer, dude, but it's winter break. School's closed for over three weeks. I can't just barge in on your family plans--"

"Sure you can!" Zach said, "We've got tons of room. I'll just let Becca know..." Zach flipped his cell open and filled Becca in on the situation. After finishing his call to Becca, Zach speed-dialed another number and handed the phone to Sam.

"Hello?" Sam asked, and then listened to the firm, no-nonsense tones of Zach's mother. "It's so kind of you...Yes, ma'am....Yes, ma'am....Thank you so much....Good-bye, Mrs. Warren." Sam handed the cell back to Zach.

"Are you packed? Becca's picking us up in fifteen minutes." Zach leaned forward and winked. "That's what she said, which means we really have at least a half-hour to kill before she gets here."

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"Wow," Sam stepped into the first room of the suite they were occupying, at the Salt Lake City Hilton. "This is huge!" He gestured towards the two queen-sized beds, armoire that concealed a flat screen television, desk, and matching triple dresser and lowboy. That was only the first room; he could see a doorway into a sitting room, and beyond that, another bedroom. Zach had told Sam early on that his family was well off. Sam realized exactly how well off by the offhand way that the Warrens settled into the room and dealt with the hotel staff – clearly they were used to living in the lap of luxury. Sam, in contrast, was used to living by the seat of his pants. "How much do I owe you, Becca?" Becca had paid with a platinum Visa.

"Don't be silly, Sam. You're our guest."

"But, Becca—"

"Look, if you want to pay me back, you can drive tomorrow, through the mountains. It's the worst part of the route, especially if it's gonna be snowing, like the weather man says."

Zach teasingly quoted, "Could be worse, could be raining." and Becca reached out and slapped him.

Sam grinned. "Deal."

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"What do you think of this one, honey?" Mr. Warren indicated a twelve-foot-if-it-was-an-inch tall Norwegian fir, deep in the tree farm's territory. He and Zach had selected four other trees that the ladies had rejected as "too short," "too fat," "bald spot," and "just not right."

"Hmmm," Mrs. Warren pondered the large tree, and Becca asked, "Why don't we let Sam decide, as our honored guest?"

"That's a great idea!" Mrs. Warren beamed. "Sam, what do you think?"

Sam gave the tree a thorough going-over. "It's a keeper."

"Goody!" Zach said, reaching for his cell phone. "Let's tell the tree guys to get choppin'."

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Mrs. Warren paused, spreading out the clump of tinsel that Zach had just tossed on the tree. Sam could honestly say he'd never seen a tree with so many and varied ornaments on it. After Zach, Sam and Mr. Warren wrapped dozens of strings of lights around the tree, the real work began. The five of them had pitched in to decorate the massive tree, as boxes of Hallmark collector's ornaments, home-made and school-made dough ornaments, fragile glass and hand-painted globes from France and Germany slowly filled the tree.

"There's just one more thing," Mrs. Warren gently picked up the pale pink angel topper with gold tipped wings. "Would you put this on the top, Sam?"

Sam carefully climbed the step ladder that they needed to reach the upper four feet of the tree, placing the angel on the tippety-top of the tree as "Oh Christmas Tree" played in the background.

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"Oh night, Divine! O-oh ni-ight, oh night divine!" Sam cheerfully warbled with the rest of the congregation, the joyous rumbling merging with the church's impressive choir. As the song ended, he took his seat on the cushioned pew, between Zach and Becca.

The reverend re-took the podium and Sam thought about Pastor Jim, imagining him starting the same sermon in Blue Earth. "For unto you is born this day, a Savior..."

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Sam stared at the pile of presents that he was continuing to amass as Mr. Warren unearthed gifts from further under the tree. He had put his presents for the Warrens under the tree last night before attending the candlelight services, but the tree fairly bulged with packages when he and the family entered the living room this morning. "Merry Christmases!" had rapidly given way to "open the presents" and "what did Santa get you?" and the sound of tearing wrapping paper, laughing, and "thank you's" filled the room.

"Thank you so much for...everything," Sam said during a lull in present unwrapping. "It's so kind of you to invite me to join in your holidays."

"You're welcome any time, Sam," Mrs. Warren answered. "I want you to remember that."

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"Amen." Sam and the rest of the table echoed Mr. Warren as he finished saying grace.

"Okay, everyone, let's eat!"

Sam glanced across the table, still amazed at the sheer number of relatives who had appeared an hour before Mrs. Warren served dinner. Zach and Becca had told him they'd be joined by their extended family for Christmas dinner and Sam thought that meant their grandparents and a few cousins, maybe an aunt or two. Instead, he had met twenty-two more Warrens, and even he had trouble keeping track of all their names.

Conversation was lively as everyone caught up with everyone else's doings, amidst laughter and good-natured ribbing. There was a colossal amount of food, too: honey baked ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn, broccoli and cauliflower, and a tossed salad. Dessert was four different pies: pecan, pumpkin, cherry and French silk. Sam tried a slice of each, and he wasn't the only one who couldn't make up their mind, dessert-wise.

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Sam blinked, returning to the present, still gazing at the sparkling tree. He was experiencing the quintessential normal family Christmas – without a family member in sight. That was just wrong. Quickly, he pulled his cell out of his pocket and hit the now seldom-used number one on his speed dial. "Hey, Dean?" he said softly. "Merry Christmas..."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this little holiday trip down memory lane. If you're hankering for more Chirstmas fic, my drabble for last week (challenge word is belt) is also a Winchester Christmas story.

Reviews are like presents, and this time of year, they're Christmas presents!


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